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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, Directok 



Water-supply Paper 367 



PROFILE SURVEYS 



OF 



MISSOURI RIVER FROM GREAT FALLS 
TO THREE FORKS, MONTANA 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OP 

R. B. MARSHALIj. Chief Geogeapher 




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WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1914 




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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



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df:partmknt of tiik interior 
UNITED STATES GKOLOGICAL SURVEY 

(}KORQE OTIS SMITH, Director 



"Water- Supply Paper ;J«>7 



PROFILE SURVEYS 



OP 



393 



MISSOURI RIVER FROM GREAT FALLS 
TO THREE FORKS, MONTANA 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 



R, B. MARSHALL, Chief Geographer 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1914 






MN 30 1315 






CONTENTS. 



Page. 

General features of Missouri River basin 5 

(laging stations 7 

Publications 7 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Plate I. A-J/, Plan and prolile of Missouri River from Great Falls to 

Three Forlis. .Mont At end of volume, 

3 



PROFILE SURVEYS OF MISSOURI RIVER FROM GREAT 
FALLS TO THREE FORKS, MONTANA. 



Prepared under the direction of 11. B. Marshall, Chief Geographer. 



GENERAL FEATURES OF MISSOURI RIVER BASIN. 

Missouri River and its innumerable tributaries drain an immense 
area in the northern and western parts of the United States. The 
northern boundary of this area is approximately the fiftieth parallel ; 
the southern, the thirty-ninth; on the west it is limited by the Rocky 
Mountains; on the east the divide between it and the upper Missis- 
sippi Basin crosses eastern North and South Dakota, western Iowa, 
and northeastern Missouri. Its extent east and west is about 900 
miles; north and south, 600 miles; and it comprises a total of 492,000 
square miles. 

The basin shows all gi-adations of topogi-aphy from the mountains 
of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado to the rolling prairies of the 
Dakotas, Nebraska, and Kansas. The upper tributaries drain a 
forested region, but the main stream flows through a country almost 
wholh^ devoid of forests. The precipitation in the mountainous por- 
tion of the basin is mainly in the form of snow, but a great part of 
the area lies within the arid and semiarid regions, and the annual 
average precipitation throughout the entire basin is probably less 
than 20 inches. 

Missouri River proper is formed in southwestern Montana by the 
union of three streams, which were discovered by Lewis and Clark 
m 1806 and named by them Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers. 
Jefferson and Madison forks come together first, and within 2 miles 
they are joined by the Gallatin. The head of the Missouri thus 
formed lies about in latitude 45° 56' north and longitude 111° 32' 
west. Each of the three headwater rivers is about 90 feet wide, 
flows with great velocitj^, and discharges large quantities of water. 
The Gallatin is the most rapid of the three, but the Jefferson drains 
the largest area and is here treated as the continuation of the main 
river. The Jefferson itself is formed by the union of two forks — 
Bighole and Beaverhead rivers, the Beaverhead draining the larger 
area and having as its master headwater stream Red Rock River. 



6 PROFILE SURVEYS IN MISSOURI RIVER BASIN. 

The source of the Red Rock River — the Red Rock Lakes, lying in 
the Rocky Mountains 6,700 feet above sea level — may therefore be 
regarded as the ultimate source of the great Missouri. 

Below the junction of the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin the 
course of the Missouri lies through mountain valleys and deep can- 
yons, from which it finally emerges through a gorge in a range of 
rocks called by Lewis and Clark the " gates of the Rocky Mountains." 
Thirty-five miles above Fort Benton the river pours over Great 
Falls, and from that point onward it is navigable. For miles below 
the falls the river flows in a deep canyon, its banks ranging in height 
from 100 to 160 feet. Below the mouth of Marias River, which 
enters it from the north, its banks are less abrupt and rise with gentle 
slopes to the bluffs. The high-water width of the river, which in 
the vicinity of Fort Benton is 500 to 1,000 feet, increases to 1,500 
feet at the mouth of Milk River and to 2,000 feet near the mouth of 
the Yellowstone. Below the Yellowstone the width gradually in- 
creases from 2,000 to 3,000 feet, which remains approximately the 
average width for 600 miles of its course. 

From the mouth of the Yellowstone the Missouri follows a winding 
but on the whole southeasterly course until it is joined by the Kansas; 
thence it flows more nearly eastward, across the State of Missouri, 
and empties into the Mississippi 16 miles above St. Louis, 189 miles 
above the mouth of the Ohio, and 2,340 miles below the junction of 
its three upper forks. 

For the first 350 miles below the union of the three forks the Mis- 
souri is comparatively clear, but about midway between the forks 
and the mouth of the Yellowstone its character begins to change, and 
it gradually becomes turbid. Although a large amount of the sedi- 
ment carried by the Missouri is undoubtedly brought in by the drain - 
age of its tributaries,. the greater part is derived from the caving of 
its banks. 

Except in the mountain canyons the Missouri flows through fertile 
alluvial bottom land, ranging in width from 1^ miles near the mouth 
to 17 miles in the vicinity of Sioux City. 

The tributaries are chiefly in the upper course of the river and 
come from the western side of the basin. The most important of 
these are Musselshell, Sun, Marias, Milk, Yellowstone, Cheyenne, 
Platte, and Kansas rivers. 

Owing to the high altitude and the northern climate ice prevails in 
the upper parts of this basin from November to April. The Missouri 
itself freezes over entirely, but many of its tributaries remain partly 
open on account of the extremely rapid flow of the water. The 
amount of snow falling on the prairies is usually small, but among 
the mountains the snows begin early, continue late, and accumulate 
to great depths. 



PROFILE SURVEYS IN MISSOURI RIVER BASIN. 7 

The voluiiK- of ]Mis.s()iiri Iviver varies greatly, the ordinary high- 
water discharge at the mouth being about 28 times the h)w-water 
discharge. Tlie freshets are caused by melting snows and heavy 
summer rains. The regular floods occur in May, June, and July, the 
June discharge being (he givatest. Thereafter tlie river steadily de- 
creases in volume, the minimum being reached during the winter. 

Irrigation is ])racticed to a great extent on the numerous tributaries 
of the ]\Iissouri and agriculture has been extensively developed in 
many of the valley's. The Madison and Gallatin and many other of 
the mountain tributaries afford unsurpassed storage facilities, the 
waters of the Beaverhead, Bighole, Madison, Jefferson, and Gallatin 
rivers furnish great supplies for irrigation, and the basins of Milk, 
Sun, Yellowstone, and Musselshell rivers, already extensively util- 
ized, still offer oj^portunities for broader irrigation, storage, and 
water-power development. 

The Missouri itself has not been used for irrigation, for its banks 
are high, and it is, consequently, difficult of diversion. About 150,000 
acres of land are now under irrigation in Beaverhead Valley, and by 
storing the waters of the upper Beaverhead or Red Rock River in 
Red Rock Lakes fully 125,000 acres more can be irrigated. 

GAGING STATIONS. 

The Survey has maintained in the basin of the Missouri a large 
number of gaging stations to obtain data for studies of the flow of the 
river and its tributaries. The stations listed below are in the stretch 
of the main stream covered by this report : 

Missouri River near Townsend, Mont., 1891-1904. 
Missouri River at Canyon Ferry, Mont., 1SS9. 
Missouri River near Craig, Mont, 1890-1902. 
Missouri River at Toston, Mont.. 1890; 1910- 
Missouri River at Cascade, Mont., 1902- 
Missouri River at Great Falls, Mont., 1897-1905. 

A dash following a date indicates that the station was being main- 
tained June 30, 1913. A period after a date indicates discontinuance. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

The results of stream-flow measurements made by the Survey at 
gaging stations maintained on the Missouri and its tributaries have 
been published in the following reports : 

Annual reports: 11th, pt. 2; 12tli, pt. 2; IStli, pt. 3; 14th, pt. 2; 16th, pt. 2; 

18th, pt. 4 ; 19th, pt. 4 ; 20th, pt. 4 ; 21st, pt. 4 ; 22d, pt. 4. 
Bulletins: 131, 140. 
Water-supply Papers : 11, 15, 27, 36, 37, 49, 50, 66, 75, 84, 99, 130, 131, 172, 208, 

246, 266, 286, 306, 326, and 356. 



8 PKOFILE SURVEYS IN MISSOURI RIVER BASIN. 

Water-supply papers and other publications of the United States 
Geological Survey containing data in regard to the water resources 
of the United States may be obtained or consulted as indicated 
below : 

1. Copies may be obtained free of charge by applying to the 
Director of the Geological Survey, Washington, D. C, but the edi- 
tion printed for free distribution is small and is soon exhausted. 

2. Copies may be purchased at nominal cost from the Superin- 
tendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, 
D. C., Avho Avill, on application, furnish lists giving prices. 

3. Sets of the reports may be consulted in the libraries of the 
principal cities in the United States. 

4. Complete sets are available for consultation in the local offices 
of the water-resources branch of the Geological Survey, as follows : 

Albany, N. T., Room 18, Federal Building. 

Atlanta, Ga., Post Office Building. 

St. Paul, Minn., Old Capitol Building. 

Helena, Mont., Montana National Bank Building. 

Denver, Colo., 302 Cliamber of Commerce Building. 

Salt Lake City, Utah, Federal Building. 

Boise, Idaho, 615 Idaho Building. 

Portland, Oreg., 416 Couch Building. 

Tacoma, Wash., Federal Building. 

San Francisco, Cal., 328 'Customhouse. 

Los Angeles, Cal., Federal Building. 

Santa Fe, N. Mex., Capitol Building. 

Honolulu, Hawaii, Kapiolani Building. 

A list of the Geological Survey's publications will be sent on appli- 
cation to the Director of the United States Geological Survey, 
Washington, D. C. 

o 



U S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKg, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I 




^- B. Ma-shall, CKiel Geoe-apher 

T'MPaphy by R. H. Reineck 
surveyed in 19J3 



Contour interval on land 26 feet 

intnnr mterva' "" «..^- p- *"=^. 

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i_ 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS. MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE 




R. B. Marshall, Chiei Geographer 
Sletiare Tatum. Geographer in charge 
Topography by R, H. Reineck 
Surveyed in 1913 



O 



PLAN. AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I C 




R- B. Marehall, Chief Geographei 
Sledge Tatum, Geoeraptier in chargi 
Topogruphy by R, H. Remeck 
Surveyed in 1913 



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PLAN AND PROFILE oF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I 




R. B Marshall. Chief Geoe'aptier 
Sledee Tatum, Geographer in charge 
Topography by R. H. Reineck 
Surveyed m 1913 



Contour interval on land 26 feel 

Contour interval on river surface 5 feet 

Datum ia tiuan tea lewt 

1914 



5 



U S, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY 




R B Marshall. Chief Geographet 
Sledge Taluiti. Geographer in charge 
Topography by R. H. Reinectt 
Surveyed in 1913 



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U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I F 




^- B. Maishall, Chief Geoeiapher 
Sledge Tatum, Geogfaphet in charge 
lopography by R, H. Remecl 
Surveyed in 1913 



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U, S, GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 
GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKs, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I G 



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Sledge latum. Geogfapher in chatge 
Topography by R H. Remeck 
Sutveyed in 1913 



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Contour interval on land 25 feet 
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1914 



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U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I H 




"■ B, Maishall, Chiel Geoeraptiet 
Sledge Tatufn, Geographer in charge 
Topogtaphy by R. H Remeck 
Surveyed .r, 1913 



9 



U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I J 




J B. Marshall. Chief Geoetapher 
Sledjc Talum, Geographer in charge 
I^opoeraphy by R. H. Reineck 
Surveyed in 1913 



Scale jfTT^ 



204. Subject to adjusir 



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10 



U. S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS. MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I K 



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PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS, MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLr PAPER 367 PLATE 



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Sledge Tatum. Geographer in charge 
Topography by R. H. Reineck 



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1914 



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U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
GEORGE OTIS SMITH. DIRECTOR 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFORKS. MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I M 




H. B. Marshall. Chief Geoetaphi 
Sled(pc Taluni. GoOE'apKe' in c 
Topoa'aphy by R H. Reineck 



Vertical scale 1 inch - : 
1914 



18 



PLAN AND PROFILE OF 

MISSOURI RIVER 

GREAT FALLS TO THREEFQRKS. MONTANA 



WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 367 PLATE I N 




R B Maishalt. Chief Geogiapher 
Sledge Tatum. Geographer in chargt 
Topography by R, H. Reineck 
Surveyed in 1913 



Vertical scale 1 inch = 20 feet 
1914 



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LBiYiy'15 



UUiriy IV 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



